Shark for supper

So it is the last weekend and we are ready to start packing.. 7 more sleeps. Jake one of the other guys who will graduate with us in Saturday spent the weekend fishing and arrived home at about 10pm with a massive shark. We all got fillets sliced off the beast and despite having been out for a meal we couldn't resist. Nicked a couple of lemons off the college trees and threw in the last of the tatties. Shark and Chips served in a rather classy copy of the Orcadian, nim nim! Please don't pass this on to Orkney Today who featured a column by Les saying you couldn't get decent fish here - you can now!

Donald's dream date

Since he was 10 or 11 Donald has asked about a skydive, the answer was always "when you are 16 and can pay for it yourself, yes." Well on Saturday he could pay for it himself. It was almost free however as they forgot to charge him anything at all. We had to go back when we all realised none of us had paid a penny! They were very nice and he got a free mug (anti-spill you can use it on the descent!). Frankly the jump was a better use of money than a piercing or a tattoo!

Baptisms of fire and water...

The exams are now over. (Phewie) after the weeks of study and revision the actual papers were a mixed bag but the results are fine.
Fiona sat so long in the sun with her theology notes that a spider constructed a massive web between her leg and the grass. I guess that says a lot about the subject of theology!

On a more positive note, after the exams one of our student pals decided to put his learning into
practice and decided to get baptised. What a great event to take part in a practical after all the theory. Go Nathan! His family travelled up from Palmerston North and we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea afterwards in great souroundings - beats the sea!

We could not resist taking a shot of a disappointed Donald at Hot Water Beach - well there was plenty of water for sure but none of it was hot! The 'stream' in front of him was what you had to walk across to get to the spot where you dig a hole and watch it fill with geyser heated water.
In the end we just jumped into a sulphurous foot spa to warm up - bliss!

Kiwis - bigger than you think!

Actually Kiwis are birds or people but not fruit. The locals always say "Kiwifruit" whether green or golden. We went to a kiwi hatchery for Donald to see the birds at play and then to a visitor centre for the fruit variety. They do look alike (on the outside.)

And whenever we see kiwis, we think of Marian!

Secret Garden

So, they sent us out for a retreat, with no classes but a forecast of rain. It was actually a beautiful morning and we had a flask of coffee, a Spanish new testament, some books and our journals. (We are supposed to write a journal each day this term.) After we read our Spanish NT reading and a bit of Loren Cunningham's book we were praying for confirmation of the next step. We decided to have a wee walk before meeting the other students and within 25 yards we found some steps ..previously unoticed..down to the lake side. On exploring they led us to a Spanish Corner "Rincon de Poetas" the tiled area was a compass rose and Spain was etched on the tile we were looking at pointing in the direction of Spain! Hahaha - nice one God. As a wee aside I am entitled to sit in Poet's Corner having apparently won a prize for a dialect poem.
http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/ohs/index.asp?pageid=2822

Unveiling..

We have been busy this semester with a class project - a duplex unit for new accommodation next term. This week it was unveiled to the world when the trees were taken out by a JCB. Hopefully it will be finished in June for the new students, so if you plan to apply get your forms in quick. What was my contribution? I painted the heads of the nails.